Gondola car.



Patentgd May I3, I902.

H. S.-HART.

GONDULA CAR. (Application flleiA ug. 10, 1901.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet L zan es'zlzium Patented May l3, I902.

H. S. HART.

GUNDOLA CAR.

(Applicatiog filed Aug. 10, 1901.)

2 Sheets8heet 2.

(No Model.)

l u r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY STILLSON HART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO RODGER BALLAST OAR COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS. y

co'NDoL'AYcAR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 699,949, dated May 13, 1902.

I Application filed August 10, 1901. ,Serial No. 71,5 48. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAR Y'STILLSOII H T, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago,-inthe county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements: in Gondola Cars, of whichthe following is a specification.

This-invention relates to that class of cars which are'provided with end boards, aflat bottom, and swingin g side doors, and particularly to the meansby which the swinging side doors are moved into and held in locked position, all of which will more fully hereinafter appear.

The principal object of this invention is to provide acar having swinging side doors with simple, eoonomicah'and efficient mechanism for holding the same locked in their closed position.

l Further objects of the invention willap pear from an examination of the drawings rock-shaft.

It consists, further and finally, in the features combinations, anddetails of construc-' tion hereinafter described 'andclaimed."

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portion of a car constructed in accordance with these improvements Fig. 2,aplan sectional view taken on line 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a cross-sectional View taken through the car 'on line 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. l, a transverse sectional view of one side of the car; Fig.5, an'enlarged broken sectional viewof the upper portion of one of the posts; Fig. 6, a view in side elevation of one of the post caps,'showing the flanges through which the doors arepivoted; Fig. 7, a perspecti've'view of aportion of the anchorrod, and Fig. 8 a perspective view of the up- .perportion of one of the cleats attached to the Inner'surface of the posts.

In the art to which this invention relates it is well known'that it is very desirable to provide a car having swinging doors with means to contact these doors previous to their initial closed position and force the same and hold them locked in their closed position.

The principal object of this invention,therefore, is to providesimple, economical, and efficient mechanism to accomplish this result, all of which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In constructing a car in accordance with ,these improvernents I preferlto' provide a car having the; usual frame] portion and which maybe constructed, as shown in the drawin gs,

" with the usual side sills a, center sills b, and

intermediate sills c, and with a flat bottom d arranged thereon, though the invention need not necessarily be limited to this style of frame and bottom, but can ,be arranged for use with other kinds of frames and bottoms by the exercise of ordinary mechanical skill and without departing from the spirit of the invention.

To provide swinging side boards, a plurality of fvertic'al'side stake's'clareprovided and mountedin'th'e usual "pockets'or sockets, all of which is' well known tothose skilled in the art. Sidedoorsf are provided, having angleirons g arranged "ti ansvers'ely thereof and having hingedbra'ckets 77. secured thereto at These hingedbrackor near the upper ends. 7 ets, as above suggested, are pivotally sec'ured to lugs '5, in turn secured to inclined longitudinal beams j, which connect the upper ends of the vertical side stakes together.

This arrangement permits the doorstobe opened outwardly for the discharge of 1naterial or closed and heldin locked-"position'to hold material in the car. The inclined surfaces Z of the longitudinal beams are arranged at an'angle downwardly and inwardly and add to the effectiveness of the car in that they may be used whenever desirable or necessary to support material within, and thereby add to the capacity of the car.

In order to grasp and assist in closing and holding the doors locked in their closed position, rock-shafts Z are provided, one at each side of the car, and bentin an irregular manner into short bearing or pivotal portions Z and long swinging preferably integral portions 1 arranged between the short bearing portions thereof, as hereinafter set forth. The long bails or swinging portions of the rock-shaft, which for convenience I term the rock-shaft, are made of snflieient length to extend across the door lengthwise, connecting the swinging ends of what may be termed integral crank-arm portions Z. These crank-arm portions connect the long swinging and short pivotal portions of the rockshaft and are preferably integral therewith. They are made of substantially the same length as the distance from their pivotal points to the edge of the door when closed and pivoted at apoint outward from the rockshafts point of contact with the door and at substantially right angles with such point and the outer surface of the door when closed a distance substantially equal to the distance from the pivotal portion of the shaft to the axial center of the swinging or long section of such shaft. By this means when the door is closed and the bail or rock-shaft in place the pivotal portion and the point of contact with the door are at substantially right angles with the closed door and form a locking connection therewith, and the swinging portion or long sections of the rock-shaft can be swung away from the opening when the door is open, thus preventing the clogging of the opening when the material is dumped. These rock-shafts are mounted in suitable bearings m, secured to the side stakes in a plane a trifle lower than the free ends of the swinging doors occupy when such doors are in their closed position. These rock-shafts are provided with handle portions Z by which they are operated, the free ends of which are slotted at Z, so that they may be passed over a staple n and heldinlocked position by means of a pin 0. The free ends of the swinging doors are also provided with wear-plates 19, arranged to be contacted by that portion of the rock-shaft between the bearing portions thereof and which is eccentric thereto, so that the doors are engaged by this portion just previous to their reaching their closed position and may be forced into and held locked in such position by the rock-shaft after it is locked in its closed position, all of which will be thoroughly appreciated by those skilled in the art.

I claim- 1. In a car of the class described, the combination of a frame portion provided with swinging doors forming side boards thereof, a rock-shaft arranged to directly and positively contact the free end of each swinging door between the bearing portions of such rock-shaft and hold it in locked position, an integral crank-arm upon the shaft, each pivoted at its outer end at a point eccentric from the rock-shaft to permit the shaft to swing to and from the door, substantially as described.

2. In a car of the class described, the combination of a frame portion provided with swinging doors forming side boards therefor, a swinging rock-shaft provided with crankarms upon which it is swingingly mounted such crank-arms being arranged in suitable bearings in the frame portion at or near each side thereof and such shaft being adapted to be swung into and held in direct positive contact with, the free ends of the swinging doors between the bearing portions of such shafts and adapted to force such doors into and hold them locked in their closed position, substantially as described.

3. In a car of the class described, the combination of a frame provided with swinging doors forming side boards therefor, a swinging rock-shaft, integral crank-arms on the shaft pivoted at their outer ends at points eccentric from the main portion of the rockshaft and at substantially right angles with the outer surface of the door when closed, and the point of the rock-shafts contact with the door, substantially as described.

4. In a car of the class described, the combination of a frame portion, swinging doors forming side boards therefor, a swinging rock shaft arranged at each side of the car, a plurality of integral crank-arm portions upon such rock-shaft having their outer ends pivotally mounted at points eccentric from the main portion of the shaft and at substantially right angles with the outer surface of the door when closed, and the point of contact with the door, and means for swinging the shaftinto and out of positive contact with the lower ends of the swinging doors, substantially as described.

5. In a car of the class described, the combination of a frame portion, swinging doors forming side boards therefor, aswinging rock shaft mounted at each side of the car adjacent to the lower ends of the doors, a plurality of integral crank-arm portions upon such shaft pivotally mounted in the frame at points substantially at right angles with the outer surface of the doors when closed, and the point of contact with such doors, such crank-arms being of such length as to reach only to the edge of the door nearest the pivotal point of the rock-shaft, and means for swinging the rock-shaft into and out of positive contact with the lower ends of such doors, substantially as described.

6. In a car of the class described, the combination of a frame portion, swinging doors forming side boards therefor, a rock-shaft for each side of the car arranged at the lower ends of such doors havinga plurality of bail portions each adapted to extend lengthwise the doors, and means for swinging the rockof one of the doors from end to end thereof, shaft into and out of' positive contact'with' 10 a pair of integral crank-arms for each bail such doors, substantially as described.

portion connected thereby and having their outer ends pivotally mounted eccentric with v HARRY TILLSON HART the bail portions and at substantially right I Witnesses:

angles with the outer surface of the doors THOMAS F. SHERIDANL l HARRY'IRWIN ORoMER.

when closed, and the point-of contact with 

